| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Kroffat (1945-06-14)June 14, 1945 (age 80) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dan Kroffat[1] King Krow[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Vancouver, British Columbia[1] |
| Debut | 1963[1] |
| Retired | 1985[2] |
Daniel Kroffat (born June 14, 1945) is a Canadian retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances withStampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented theladder match.[2]
Kroffat was discovered byEarl Maynard, a professional wrestler and formerMr. Universe, while working as alifeguard inVancouver, British Columbia. Maynard began training Kroffat before recommendingStu Hart as a trainer. Kroffat and his wife moved toCalgary,Alberta, where Kroffat trained and debuted in Hart'sStampede Wrestling promotion.[2] Wrestling as "Cowboy" Dan Kroffat, he formed atag team with Bill Cody and won theStampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship in the summer of 1971.[1][3] In July 1972, Kroffat won his firstStampede North American Heavyweight Championship by defeatingTor Kamata.[1][4] Kroffat and Kamata wrestled several times, and Kroffat designed a new match type for one of the encounters. Abag of money was hung from the ceiling and the two competitors fought to retrieve the bag by climbing a stepladder. The idea caught on, and subsequent matches saw Kroffat's title belt replace the money, with the stipulation that the first wrestler to retrieve the belt would be champion. The idea of aladder match has been used ever since, asBret Hart helped popularize the stipulation in theWorld Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment).[2]
Over the next two years, he held both championships several times. He won the tag team title twice while teaming withLennie Hurst and combined with Cody to win the title belts for the fourth and final time.[3] Kroffat also engaged in afeud withArchie Gouldie in Stampede Wrestling. The pair traded the North American Heavyweight Title back and forth in a series of matches. Kroffat defeated Gouldie to win the belt in 1973, but Gouldie later regained the title. Still in that same year, Kroffat won the title back from Gouldie to begin his third reign as champion.[1][4] He then feuded withGil Hayes, who beat him to win the title. Kroffat regained the belt from Hayes but was unable to win it back afterdropping it to him again.[1][4]
Kroffat also enjoyed success outside Stampede Wrestling. In a match that took place in Vancouver, he won theNWA United National Championship while wrestling as King Krow in 1972.[1][5] He also won the Vancouver version of theNWA Canadian Tag Team Championship twice in 1974, teaming withLeo Madril and Wayne Bridges.[1][6]
Back in Stampede Wrestling, Kroffat defeated his old rival Gouldie to regain the North American Heavyweight Championship. Once again, however, Gouldie won the title back later in the series of matches. He won the belt for the final time by defeatingKiller Tim Brooks. After winning the belt, Kroffat retired from professional wrestling and vacated the championship.[1][4][7] He continued to wrestle occasionally, however, until retiring for good in 1985.[2]
After leaving wrestling in 1985, Kroffat opened Daniel's Auto Wholesale Centre, a used car dealership.[2] Afterbovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, was discovered in an Albertan cow in 2003, the United States stopped importing Canadian cattle. Due to the problems this created in the Albertan cattle industry, Kroffat led a campaign to reopen the border, gathering signatures on a petition and pressuring the Canadian federal government to help with the cause.[8]
After Kroffat's retirement, professional wrestlerPhilip Lafon, who was a fan of Kroffat's, took on thering name Dan Kroffat in his honor.[2]
